Mexico arrests 2 men in Malcolm X grandson's death

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Two waiters at a Mexico City bar will face homicide and robbery charges in the beating death of Malcolm X's grandson Malcolm Shabazz, authorities said Monday.

Uncredited

In this undated composite image released by Mexico City's prosecutor's office (PGJDF) on Monday, May 13, 2013, Manuel Alejandro Perez de Jesus, 24, left, and David Hernandez Cruz, 24, stand for their mug shot after being arrested in Mexico City. Both men were arrested in connection with last week's death of Malcolm Shabazz, the grandson of political activist Malcolm X. An official of the city's prosecutor's office who was not authorized to be quoted by name says the two suspects are employees of the bar where Shabazz reportedly got into a violent dispute over a $1,200 bar tab. The 28-year-old Shabazz died of blunt-force trauma injuries. (AP Photo/PGJDF)

In this undated composite image released by Mexico City's prosecutor's office (PGJDF) on Monday, May 13, 2013, Manuel Alejandro Perez de Jesus, 24, left, and David Hernandez Cruz, 24, stand for their mug shot after being arrested in Mexico City. Both men were arrested in connection with last week's death of Malcolm Shabazz, the grandson of political activist Malcolm X. An official of the city's prosecutor's office who was not authorized to be quoted by name says the two suspects are employees of the bar where Shabazz reportedly got into a violent dispute over a $1,200 bar tab. The 28-year-old Shabazz died of blunt-force trauma injuries. (AP Photo/PGJDF)

FILE - This undated file photo courtesy of the Shabazz family shows Malcolm Shabazz in an unknown location. Shabazz, the 28-year-old grandson of political activist Malcolm X, died in Mexico City on Thursday, May 9, 2013. Mexico City prosecutors said on May 13, 2013 that they have arrested two men in connection with the death of Shabazz, who died of blunt-force trauma injuries. A companion said the dispute involved a $1,200 bar tab. (AP Photo/Courtesy of the Shabazz family, Xiomara Michel, File)

People pass a store that sells construction materials located below the Palace bar in Garibaldi Plaza in Mexico City, Friday, May 10, 2013. Malcolm Shabazz, 28, the grandson of political activist Malcolm X, died in Mexico, U.S. officials confirmed Friday. Labor activist Miguel Suarez said he was with Shabazz when his friend was beaten up during a dispute over a bill at the Mexico City bar. He said Friday the owner demanded they pay a $1,200 bill and a fight ensued. Suarez says he later found Shabazz injured outside the bar and took him to a hospital where he died on Thursday. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

A worker stands outside a store that sells construction materials located below the Palace bar in Garibaldi Plaza in Mexico City, Friday, May 10, 2013. Malcolm Shabazz, 28, the grandson of political activist Malcolm X, died in Mexico, U.S. officials confirmed Friday. Labor activist Miguel Suarez said he was with Shabazz when his friend was beaten up during a dispute over a bill at the Mexico City bar. He said Friday the owner demanded they pay a $1,200 bill and a fight ensued. Suarez says he later found Shabazz injured outside the bar and took him to a hospital where he died on Thursday. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

Mariachi musicians sit in Garibaldi Plaza in City Mexico City, Friday, May 10, 2013. Malcolm Shabazz, 28, the grandson of political activist Malcolm X, died in Mexico, U.S. officials confirmed Friday. Labor activist Miguel Suarez said he was with Shabazz when his friend was beaten up during a dispute over a bill at the Mexico City bar located in Garibaldi Plaza. He said Friday the owner demanded they pay a $1,200 bill and a fight ensued. Suarez says he later found Shabazz injured outside the bar and took him to a hospital where he died on Thursday. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

Prosecutors said police were seeking at least two other people believed to have participated in the attack on Shabazz, who was beaten early Thursday in a dispute over a $1,200 bar bill.

Prosecutor Rodolfo Fernando Rios said bar employees David Hernandez Cruz and Manuel Alejandro Perez de Jesus would be charged with aggravated robbery and homicide.

Rios said there was no indication of a racial motivation in the attack on Shabazz, 28, who was assaulted after he drank with a friend at the Palace bar on Garibaldi Plaza, a downtown square famous for open-air performances by strolling mariachi musicians.

Miguel Suarez, a friend of Shabazz, told The Associated Press last week that the fight broke out after the owner of the bar demanded that the two men pay 15,000 pesos for the time they spent drinking at the bar. He said he found Shabazz outside the bar and took him to a hospital where he died.

Many of the bars around Garibaldi Plaza are notorious for exorbitant overcharging of customers, particularly foreigners, often on the pretext that customers must pay for time spent talking with female employees.

Rios said the initial investigation indicated Shabazz and Suarez were lured to the bar by two women.

An autopsy found that Shabazz died of blows to the head, face and torso.

Rios said Shabazz's body had not been claimed by relatives or the U.S. Embassy. He said Mexican authorities were dealing with transporting it back to the U.S.

Much like his grandfather, Shabazz spent his youth in and out of trouble. At 12, he set a fire in his grandmother's apartment, a blaze that resulted in the death of Malcolm X's widow. After four years in juvenile detention, Shabazz was later sent back to prison on attempted robbery and assault charges.

In recent years, Shabazz seemed to be seeking redemption, saying he was writing a memoir and traveling the world speaking out against youth violence. Before his trip to Mexico, he reached out to a group of Mexican construction workers in the U.S. and then visited in Mexico with a leader who had been deported.